The S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 2,602.42, finishing the holiday-shortened session above 2,600 for the first time.

"Holiday retail sales in 2017 are expected to rise 4.2 per cent above a year ago, which would be the strongest growth rate since 2014", said a note this week from IHS Markit.

The stock markets closed early on Black Friday, a day after Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday shopping season that accounts for as much as 40 percent of retailers' annual sales.

Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher.

Turnout at US retailers was relatively subdued on Black Friday, with many shoppers flocking to stores to eye items in person while waiting to do their actual bargain hunting online.

USA shoppers had spent over $1.52bn online by Thanksgiving evening, a 17% jump over the same period previous year, Adobe Analytics said. The department store operator's chief executive told CNBC the company was better off this year than last and was seeing very robust online demand. Wal-Mart gained about 0.5 percent and electronics retailer Best Buy was up 0.9 percent.

Their biggest rival, Amazon, gained 1.7 percent and provided the biggest boost to the S&P and Nasdaq.

The energy index .SPNY and the materials index .SPLRCM were boosted by rising commodities prices. The Nasdaq .ixic added 9.19 points, or 0.13 percent, to 6,876.55.

USA oil prices jumped to a more than two-year high as North American markets tightened on the partial closure of a key pipeline linking Canada and the United States. On the Nasdaq, 1,417 issues rose and 1,228 fell.